 | This article needs attention from an expert in Pharmacology. The specific problem is: non-antiviral types in Template:Enzyme inhibition. (January 2020) |
Protease inhibitors (PIs) are medications that act by interfering with enzymes that cleave proteins. Some of the most well known are antiviral drugs widely used to treat HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and COVID-19. These protease inhibitors prevent viral replication by selectively binding to viral proteases (e.g. HIV-1 protease) and blocking proteolytic cleavage of protein precursors that are necessary for the production of infectious viral particles.
Protease inhibitors that have been developed and are currently used in clinical practice include:
- Antiretroviral HIV-1 protease inhibitors—class stem –navir[1]: 23
- Hepatitis C virus NS3/4A protease inhibitors—class stem –previr[1]: 26
- 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (including, but not limited to, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) inhibitors—class stem –trelvir[2]
Given the specificity of the target of these drugs there is the risk, like with antibiotics, of the development of drug-resistant mutated viruses. To reduce this risk, it is common to use several different drugs together that are each aimed at different targets.
In addition to those non-human proteases listed above, inhibitors of human proteases may be used to treat cancer. See the articles matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor (–mastat) and proteasome inhibitor (–zomib).[1]
- ^ a b c "The Use of Stems in the Selection of International Nonproprietary Names (INN) for Pharmaceutical Substances" (PDF). World Health Organization. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
- ^ Programme on International Nonproprietary Names (INN) (February 2023). "Pre-stems: Suffixes used in the selection of INN - February 2023". World Health Organization.
- ^ Ahmad B, Batool M, Ain QU, Kim MS, Choi S (August 2021). "Exploring the Binding Mechanism of PF-07321332 SARS-CoV-2 Protease Inhibitor through Molecular Dynamics and Binding Free Energy Simulations". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 22 (17): 9124. doi:10.3390/ijms22179124. PMC 8430524. PMID 34502033.